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Thursday, April 13, 2017

I know I did this back when The Tavern was young, but I figure we now have time (and hopefully some new budding layout skills) on our side. I'm talking about crowdsourcing a Tenkar's Tavern Wand of Wonder, new and unique and fun as hell. Well, hopefully fun as hell.

Here are the rules:

1 - We are going for 120 entries (1d6 x 1d20)

2 - All effects must use a d6 and /or a d20 if a dice roll is needed (1d3 and 1d10 also work, as they are half the parent die). Any sub-tables must be 1d3, 1d6 or at most 1d10 - and d10 is pushing it.

3 - By making a comment below, you agree to add your writing to be released under the OGL. Copyright entry for the Tenkar's Tavern Wand of Wonder will be made under Erik Tenkar Stiene (see Ken, the name is out there, if only you could read...)

4 - One random entry will get a $10 RPGNow Gift Certificate. Three random entries will get $5 Gift Certificates. One final $5 Gift Certificate to the one that makes me laugh the most.

5 - A compiled version of the wand will be posted here at The Tavern on April 22, 2017 for Swords & Wizardry Appreciation Day and released under the OGL. Each entry will be credited on both the blog post and the PDF version under whatever name you post under. If you want a different name used, mention it in the comment. The final PDF will be released at RPGNow as PWYW

6 - Entries must be made by midnight, April 20th. You have a week from now.

32 comments:

Sort of a magic jar/body switching effect. The recipient of the wands pointing must make a save (d20) versus switching bodies temporarily with the user of the wand. Time to switch back bodies is 5 rounds + 2d6 (or something more reasonable).

The Spirit of the wand 'time-stops' the user for 1d4 rounds, answering one question per round as truthfully as possible, but with a quirky, sometimes off-beat sense of humor, if more than 2 questions are asked, the caster suffers one round of being under a time stop himself. The wand answers only to 'Gary'...

The immediate area will smell strongly of maple syrup. Anyone entering the area (defined as necessary by the DM) must save vs. pancake. Failure cause you to lose initiative will you figure out where you can score pancakes at this hour.

Fart gun. Shooting it means a normal attack roll, at +2, with 1d6 damage on a successful hit. Regardless of success, the target and anyone within 10 feet of the target must save vs. breath weapon or lose the next round while holding his nose. Range is 30 feet (thank goodness!).

Stream of coins. A steady stream of gold coins issues forth for one round, in a cone 15' long and 4' wide at the base. It will do 2d6 h.p. of damage to anything in the area of effect, and when complete, there will be 1d100+100 g.p. on the ground.

The wand extends 1d20' for a duration of 1d6 Rounds, thereafter losing all rigidity for a Turn before returning to its normal state. Anyone in the path of the wand's extension must Save vs having their eye poked out.

The Wand of Wonder is, indeed, wondrous! This finally crafted and beautiful wand can be used 3 times in a 24 hour period, each 24 hour period can be started once a week.

When activated the wand will produce a wondrous display of lights and sounds. The audience (those not expecting the use of the wand) will become completely enthralled with the display, stop all activity and watch the display. Each time physical damage is taken, a save may be rolled to break the effect. The display will last 1 + D20 turns.

Audience members must make a save v WIS (magic). The difficulty of the save is increased by any CHA bonus and performance (Bard) skills of the user. A successful save breaks the effect and protects the character for the next 24 hours from the effect.

The user of the Wand must continue to focus on the wand or the effect will end. The range is a far as an audience member can see or hear the effect.

On use, the wand created 5 cubic inches of mashed potatoes, topped with salt and gravy or butter to the wand user's specification. The wand does not create a bowl or other vessel to hold the conjured food, nor any utensils to eat it with.

The Wand extends to 4 feet long and claps the wielder on the back as a show of support for doing such a good job

The wand calls upon the Fates to affect the wielder's attributes. Randomly determine an attribute, flip a coin, heads, add 1d3 tot he attribute, tails, subtract 1d3 from the attribute.

The wand summons 1d3 alternate universe versions of the weirder. These alternates are of different classes, genders, species and possibly even different genres as well. They spend 1d6 turns arguing which of them is the truest or best form. After this time, 1d3 versions dissapear each turn until only one remains, save vs. death to not be one of those that disappears.

Nice. How about just a first level version of the character appears (with historically accurate attributes and gear). At the end of the day, one of the two will randomly cease to exist (with all possessions). With foreknowledge of its potential fate, another player-character from the party controls the low-level dopple-ganger as it negotiates for as much of "their stuff" as possible from its future self.

All magic rings in 1d10 yards of the wielder strike the wielder doing 1 hp damage each, before tumbling to the ground. This includes magic rings worn by the wielder and any party members. 1d4 rounds per ring are required to gather them up and put on a desired ring. Cursed rings will not leave the wearer, but instead drag the wearer towards the wielder, including all others, or objects, used to prevent this, if a strength check succeeds.

Roll again; this effect occurs normally, but in the process of creating the effect the wand shifts polarity, magically (but not physically) reversing the front and back ends. The next use of the wand will treat the user as the target, and anyone/thing being pointed at by the wand as the user. This reversal lasts until the result is rolled again.

UnknownApril 15, 2017 at 8:13 PMWith a sudden flourish of this wand, the air surrounding the wielder becomes filled with 6d20 floating dwarven skulls. These skulls erupt into a raucous falsetto rendition of ancient elven love-ballads. All within 60' of the event (including the wielder) must make a saving throw or stand transfixed and enthralled by the performance until its conclusion. This effect last 1d3+3 rounds. [Douglas Zielsdorf/ Lastlaugh70

Use of the command word "igottagobad" causes the want to create a small free standing building 5x5x7. The door is adorned by a carved crescent moon. Inside is simply a bench seat with a hole cut in it. There is a not to pleasant smell the accompanies the building. The building last for about 10 minutes. If it is occupied when it disappears everything that has not gone done the whole remains. Anything gone down the whole will still be there when it returns albeit in a not so fresh state.

A swarm of brilliantly colored butterflies streams from the wand and flocks around a target. The butterflies can lift the target up to 20 feet up, and on a successful reaction roll, carry them at a rate of 10 feet per round, for 2d6 rounds. On a roll of 1-3 on a d6 they are not butterflies, but moths, and will destroy any cloth items the swarmed character is wearing instead.

all creatures within 1d4 x 10' of the wand must make a saving throw or have their heads rotated 180-degrees relative to their torsos for 1d6 turns. Combat is difficult---every opponent is effectively invisible (-4 to hit) and attack rolls less than or equal to 4 (on a d20) indicate a self-inflicted wound. Unguided movement rate is reduced to 1/3 normal, anything faster requires a saving throw each round or 0-1 hp of damage is suffered from collisions.

the minds of the two random (near-by) creatures swap bodies for the next 24 hours. Confusion last for a minimum of 2 rounds---all skills/classes/memorized spells/etc. remain with the body---unless it would be funnier otherwise.

the flesh of all living creatures within 25' radius becomes magically adhesive---anything touched becomes affixed to it. If flesh touches flesh, the glued creature also immediately becomes adhesive as well. None of the creatures in the glue-chain can be separated (short of amputation/destruction) for 1 turn.

Three to eight (1d6+2) children from an alternate plane appear near the wand user. Roll a d20 on the table below for the children. Do *not* re-roll duplicates, use them!  Children whose descriptions are noted with an asterisk (*) will eventually huddle around the wand user and ask to go back to the Romper Room. The wand looks much like the children’s teachers “attention stick” back home. (If the wand user or anyone else in the party says, “Romper Room,” the children are returned home. The speaker must make a saving throw or be whisked there, too!)

1. Amy; she asks the wand user (or, if ignored other children) to tie her untied shoe*2. Bryan; he is flexing his hands and walking in place saying, “I have to go.”*3. Dylan; he tugs at the wand user’s clothes, saying, “I want to go on the monkey bars!”*4. Gary; he is reading from a joke book and laughs periodically5. Gus; he is holding an open plastic container of paste in his right hand and eating it with his left index finger*6. Irene; she is tugging at the hem of her dress, crying for her mommy*7. Jeffrey; he walks up to other children and squawks at them*8. Katherine; she continually asks if she can “go on the playground slide”*9. Keith; a conscientious child, he walks around to the other children and to the characters, asking, “Are you okay?”*10. Kelly; she is reading from a book entitled, “Adventure Masters Guide”11. Madison; she is holding an open bottle of bubbles and a bubble wand*12. Marcus; he is quietly petting his purring cat, whom he brought in today for “Show and Tell”*13. Michael; he holds a small hockey stick and exclaims, “Me Like Hockey!”*14. Monique; an aspiring actress, she asks what her motivation is*15. Nora; she is looking at a magazine16. Paige; she is coloring on the floor*17. Phillip; he wears a brown robe and is “working on his vows”*18. Sydney; she is showing off her small containers that compose her bug collection*19. Walter; he holds a beautiful flower and asks the other children to smell it*20. Wendy; she is brushing her hair & asking, “Is it straight?” over and over*

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Why "Swords & Wizardry?"

Believe me when I say I have them all in dead tree format. I have OSRIC in full size, trade paperback and the Player's Guide. I have LL and the AEC (and somewhere OEC, but I can't find it at the moment). Obviously I have Basic Fantasy RPG. Actually, I have the whole available line in print. Way too much Castles & Crusades. We all know my love for the DCC RPG. I even have Dark Dungeons in print, the Delving Deeper boxed set, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea (thank you Kickstarter) (edit) BOTH editions of LotFP's Weird Fantasy and will soon have some dead tree copies of the Greyhawk Grognards Adventures Dark & Deep shipping shortly in my grubby hands awaiting a review..

I am so deep in the OSR when I come up for breath it's for the OSR's cousin, Tunnels & Trolls (and still waiting on dT&T to ship).

So, out of all that, why Swords & Wizardry? Why, when I have been running a AD&D 1e / OSRIC campaign in Rappan Athuk am I using Swords & Wizardry and it's variant, Crypts & Things, for the second campaign? (Actually, now running a S&W Complete campaign, soon to be with multiple groups)

Because the shit works.

It's easy for lapsed gamers to pick up and feel like they haven't lost a step. I can house rule it and it doesn't break. It plays so close to the AD&D of my youth and college years (S&W Complete especially) that it continually surprises me. Just much less rules hopping than I remember. (my God but I can run it nearly without the book)

I grab and pick and steal from just about all OSR and Original resources. They seem to fit into S&W with little fuss. It may be the same with LL and the rest, but for me the ease of use fit's my expectations with S&W.

Even the single saving throw. That took me longer to adjust to, but even that seems like a natural to me now. Don't ask me why, it just does. Maybe it's the simplicity of it. At 45 48, simplicity and flexibility while remaining true to the feel of the original is an OSR hat trick for me ;)